This section will record reproduction vintage Star Wars action figures.

Contents

Part One: Reproduction Stormtroopers.

Part Two: Yak Face, Blue Snaggletooth & fake Bootlegs.

Part Three: Vlix and Rocket-Firing Boba Fett.

Part Four: C-3PO Droids Series.

Part one. Reproduction Stormtroopers

Rise of the "Poontrooper"

by ArtooDetour. June 2013.

The emergence of reproduction vintage Stormtroopers began in earnest in January 2012. Mark Poon, creator of reproduction/custom versions of Vlix and Rocket-Firing Fett, limelighted an "army of black and white stormtroopers" on the SW collecting forum Rebelscum.

The "army" consisted of reproduction vintage white stormtroopers and custom black shadow troopers, each complete with a reproduction imperial blaster.

The introduction of these figures led some to call them "Poontroopers".

Little concern was made of the black shadow trooper versions as these were not originally production pieces.

However, concerns quickly grew over the white Stormtroopers as it became apparent that not only were these reproduction figures an exact copy of vintage originals, they also shared the same COO (Country Of Origin) stamp on the back leg - increasing the difficulty of identifying them as reproductions.

The Imperial blasters issued with the repro Stormtroopers were also reproduction.

Later in that same month, reproduction Stormtroopers bearing similarities to Poon's "army" versions were seen listed on eBay. These loose sets were listed as: (quote)

Some notable differences when comparing the repro Stormtrooper to original Hong Kong vintage Stormtroopers:

The repros weigh 15.6 grams (the same as a hard-torso sculpt). A regular original Hong Kong sculpted figure weighs 14.6 grams.

The pegholes of the repro are slighly bigger than an original.

There is a flat area underneath the arms of the repro similar only to the sculpts of Lili Ledy and Tri-Logo figures.

Spray ops on the back of the repro helmet are smaller than the original and do not go all the way to the edges of the indentation of the moulding.

It didn't take long for the Star Wars collecting community to spot the subtle differences between these repros and their original counterparts. But a mixture of disappointment, disbelief and frustration continued to grow at the decision to use an existing vintage COO identification.

How long would it take for these 'ultra-white' Stormies to begin filtering into auctions and collections, fooling buyers into believing they owned a genuine vintage figure?

Would these repros fool any of the grading companies?

And what would follow next? Biker Scouts... Snowtroopers... ?

The community had grown used to the vast amounts of repro weapons and accessories that has been in the market place since the '90s - as well as the relatively new parts for play-sets and vehicles that have become available in more recent years... but actual figures... with identical COOs!

Later that same month, a different eBay seller listed the repro Stormtroopers, this time in sets of two.

But worse was to come....

The first version two-pack is introduced

In March 2012, just weeks after Poon's "army" had been limelighted, a packaged version appeared on eBay.

The repro Stormtrooper inside this pack was identical to the loose ones that had preceded it, including the same two-line Hong Kong 1977 COO.

The card packaging consisted of a front and back print, a plastic bubble with waffle pattern, a false Lucasfilm copyright mark and a false barcode.

The design borrowed several known images from various Star Wars productions. For example, the Stormtrooper figure art at the top left of the unofficial card front is taken from the official Star Wars Battlefront game (see below pic).

Throughout those early months of 2012 the Star Wars collecting community, spearheaded by concerned members of TIG and SWFUK, began to report to eBay live auctions of the reproduction Stormtroopers as they were discovered. This led to several auctions closing down and a small victory against the repro makers.

The second version two-pack is introduced

Fast-forward to April 2013, almost a year on from Poon's "army" limelight, a newly-packaged version of the white and black Stormtrooper duo is discovered for sale on eBay and Amazon...

The white repro Stormtrooper Inside this latest package came with a new COO. This COO matched the ones belonging to the Lili Ledy and PBP original Stormtrooper versions. Luckily, the paint apps and hard torso features of the original vintage figures are vastly different to the reproductions found inside the version 2 moc.

However, it remained a concern that the makers of these repros continued to insist on imitating existing vintage COOs and refused to mark them up as the repros that they are.

Another notable difference between the second version moc release and previous versions is the inclusion of a different issue repro blaster.

Here is a detailed breakdown of some of the differences that can be found on the reproduction Stormtrooper taken from the two-pack second version when compared to original figures:

1 - Helmet is too 'round' and looks compressed from the sides.

2 - Nose bridge is too sharp; each ‘tooth’ ends in a point instead of being a little flattened.

3 - Shoulders are not wide enough and missing ‘muscles’.

4 - Finish of arms is bad.

5 - Dent in chest plate is too short.

6 - Width of arms is too small, missing muscles again.

7 - Vertical line in armor is less pronounced.

8 - See bullet 4, overall finish is not from the expected quality.

9 - Small hands, way too thin.

10 - Legs are much too thin.

11 - End point of vertical leg line is less pronounced.

12 - Knee cap line much too fat and irregular.

Other observations:

Figure ‘leans forward’ with upperbody in front of legs.

Softer and ‘slippery’ plastic, can’t even hold the gun properly

Peg holes a bit larger.

Overall impression of figure is that it’s out of proportion and missing body mass.

Different sculpt on handle of blaster.

Here is another viewpoint of some of the differences that can be found:

1 - Big bald head. Droopy looking.

2 - Large gap between eyes.

3 - Narrow shoulders.

4 - Paint joins.

5 - Thin wrists.

6 - Thin thighs.

7 - Flat feet.

...and there was still more to come...

12 inch reproduction Strormtrooper

2013 also saw the release of the Stormtrooper's big brother.... presented as a packaged 12" figure (presumably with a nod and a wink in the direction of the Gentle Giant jumbo figure lines).

Judge for yourself...

Conclusion

Rewind back to 2012... after an initial silence, Mark Poon eventually addressed some of the concerns levelled at him from the collecting community, stating that he had not produced the white and black Stormtroopers and had acquired them from a Hong Kong dealer. He also stated that he was not the one who was selling the "bootleg two-pack" on eBay.

You can make your own judgements by reading up on the forum links provided at the end of this article. It's fair to say that a large majority of the community are against these reproductions and the copying of exact COOs. But there is also a section of collectors that view these as perfectly acceptable customs or even bootlegs.

Unfortunately for Mark, whether he likes it or not, the term "Poontrooper" is one that is likely to remain for some time through association of his original limelight.

The collecting community against repros will continue to watch out for any new repro figures hitting the marketplace. There is some resignation that this will be inevitable really, but a hope remains that makers of repro will finally get the message that a simple "Repro" identification mark stamped somewhere on their creations could go a long way in cultivating acceptance and perhaps even recognition within the hobby.

This article is intended as a means to educate collectors about the existence of reproduction vintage action figures in the marketplace, and also to give an historical overview of their emergence based on the facts as they happened. Information has been gathered from the following forum threads that pertain to the subject:

This is the No Coo 2nd moc version as seen dismantled. You can see that its construction is quite different to that of the Kenner original. Each limb, including the hands, has their own rotating joint system that is glued into place.

Thanks to TIG members Psybertech and Walkie for supplying the info and pics!

Update: October 2013 -

Repro Stormtroopers appear on Repro cards...

During October 2013, Mark Poon listed his repro Stormtroopers for auction on his eBay account. This time his Stormtroopers were packaged on repro Palitoy and Kenner cardbacks with imitation bubbles. The repro figures appear to be the first wave ones that he limelighted earlier in the year (January 2013). In this instance Mark Poon has stated that he has marked the items with a 'not for resale' stamp as can be seen on the first picture.

Update: May 2015 -

Batches of the 1st issue Poontroopers appearing with "Two Right Feet"

TIG has been contacted by a collector who made a recent purchase of a number of the First Issue Mark Poon repro Stormtroopers directly from Mark Poon. The collector noted that all of the figures have two right feet. The photos below clearly show both feet 'turning' in the same direction.

I believe this may be some kind of error in the mouding process of later batches following Poon's initial run where none of these "Two Right Feet" issues were spotted. It's certainly an oddity and may help identify a repro from an original if more of these turn up.

Thanks to F-J Harmych for the info and photos.

Part two. Fake Yak Face, Blue Snaggletooth & bootlegs

by ArtooDetour. April 2014.

In addition to Mark Poon's Vlix (2005), Rocket Firing Boba Fett (2006) and Stormtroopers (2012), other fake figures to make an appearance on the market have largely concentrated on Blue Snaggletooth and Yak Face. Hardly surprising, given that these two figures have long commanded premium asking prices.

Examples of these copies range from poorly-made to good quality efforts. It is likely that they could easily fool buyers into believing they are genuine, especially if placed among other figures in auction photos. In-hand, most of these figures would be instantly recognisable as the fakes they are: poor mould and paint applications, unarticulated limbs, discrepancies in size, peg-holes, etc., being just some of the obvious characteristics.

Paint-it-yourself!

Some fakes have appeared as paint-it-yourself figures cast from hard polyurethane resin.

Belgium. April 2013. Unpainted, unarticulated Yak Face figure.

Here we can see an original on the left, an unpainted repro in the centre, and a painted repro on the right.

Blue Snaggletooth legs

One seller went so far as casting Blue Snaggletooth resin legs ready to be attached to the trunk of a Red Snaggletooth figure, even providing some basic instructions!

Below are some more fakes from around the world that have appeared at auction. Most of these were advertised as genuine.

From the UK. Blue Snaggletooth, unarticulated and made from resin.

UK. Yak Face, unarticulated, made from resin.

Germany, 2013. Advertised as real.

USA, 2013. Advertised as a Sears exclusive.

Fakes of bootlegs

Germany. 2014. A number of dubious figures appeared on a well-known auction site. Many collectors agreed that these were a mixture of direct fakes and repainted figures.

This Luke X-Wing Pilot and Biker Scout from the Model Trem line are two examples from that auction.

It's inevitable that we'll continue to see fake figures like these appearing for sale - especially for the characters that demand a premium. Luckily, in most cases, fake figures are quickly spotted by collectors who alert the rest of the community.

Mark Poon created his reproduction Vlix in 2005. This was followed by his Rocket-Firing Boba Fett in 2006.

VLIX (MK 1)

This custom carded reproduction Vlix, complete with a reproduction rifle, was also made available as a loose figure.

The repro Vlix is pressure cast from an original Brazilian Glasslite Vlix and is fully articulated. The black rifle issued with the carded figure is a repro cast from an original Hoth Stormtrooper rifle.

The COO markings on the leg of the repro Vlix match those of an original.

Below: Poon repro on the left compared to an original on right. The Coo markings are identical.

There are no peg holes on the underside of the feet of the repro figure. A genuine Vlix will have peg holes.

Below: Poon repro Vlix on the left with no peg holes. The original (right) has peg holes.

Mark Poon's been at it again. In February 2015 he advertised for sale his MK 2 version repro Vlix along with a repro 'Kenner First Shot Vlix'.

The MK 2 version comes packaged in a stylised box complete with yet another repro rifle to add to Poon's growing arsenal of fake weapons.

The For Sale announcement in the classified section of the Rebelscum forum caused instant outrage among collectors. Inadvertantly, Poon's MK 2 Vlix was the reason that led to the forum owner taking the decision to ban the sale of reproductions on the forum following an inspiring community-led petition:

I'm not going to give any details of this new Vlix - I'm going to leave that in the very capable hands of my colleague, Stef (Walkie on the forums) who has made a thorough breakdown of everything you need to know about this latest Poon repro figure.

Mark Poon created a series of four unpainted rocket-firing Boba Fett figures. A painted version was also made on a custom card.

*L-slot with 4-sided projectile

*Purple J-slot with 8-sided projectile

*Clear blue L-slot with 4-sided projectile

*Clear blue J-slot with 8-sided projectile

The figures are custom-made from ABS [torso, launcher and missile], and PVC [head and limbs]. The colour matches that of the original prototype. The figures came sealed in a baggie and packed in a white box with custom printed label. There are no markings on the figure nor any peg holes

The hologram version also appeared as L-slot and J-slot. The version shown below is the L-slot

The figure is static with non-movable limbs. The paint apps are all hand-painted. Close up photos reveal some good attempts at reproducing elements of the original casting but with shoddy paint apps. Close up this figure will not fool collectors, but placed among other figures in an auction photo some buyers might be fooled into believing it is an original.